Biltong

[Tuxstir]

Have been making my own biltong for the last few months and its been awsome. The very first batch didn't come out too great but the batches after that have been delicious.

 

This batch has been the staple chili bites with one first time bbq slab.

 

My recipe for the chili is as follows:

 

Apple cider vinegar

Crown National chilli spice

Peri Peri spice

Worcester sauce

Pepper

Cumin

 

Let soak for a few hours and then hang. Important to drain off the excess vinegar or else its too much and only a little bit to coat the meat.

 

I tried a lemon pepper once but it didn't come out too great so sticking to the chilli for now.

 

Anyone have any good recipes to try?

Funny seeing this after my girlfriend took delivery yesterday of a biltong dryer from takelot.com

put our first batch in this morning

[Allrounder]

General rule of thumb, you loose 2 thirds of your weight when making biltong. 

[Long Wheel Base]

That is the problem with making your own and having it readily available, you eat it like a ravishing cannibal and before know it, it's all gone in a week or two..lol. Ah yes, need to make a bland one for the baby to gum on when teething.

And then you are so thirsty you drink like mad. 

[Bigjim]

How do you aficionados "drain the vinegar" - do you rinse it off with water?

 

I just finished a batch that soaked for ~2hrs in brown vinegar & Crown Natiaonal Safari mix before hanging & the vinegar taste is dominating the biltong.

[AlanD]

How do you aficionados "drain the vinegar" - do you rinse it off with water?

 

I just finished a batch that soaked for ~2hrs in brown vinegar & Crown Natiaonal Safari mix before hanging & the vinegar taste is dominating the biltong.

What I do is put the meat is a long dish and pour very little vinegar over the meat and rub it in on both sides. I put the Worcester sauce on and also rub that in on both sides. I then just tip the dish to pout and excess out and then spice the meat and leave to marinate.

 

Just only rub the vinegar on, don't let it marinate in the vinegar itself.

[Bigjim]

What I do is put the meat is a long dish and pour very little vinegar over the meat and rub it in on both sides. I put the Worcester sauce on and also rub that in on both sides. I then just tip the dish to pout and excess out and then spice the meat and leave to marinate.

 

Just only rub the vinegar on, don't let it marinate in the vinegar itself.

Ahhh - cool, thank you!

[Cois]

Been purchasing the pre made biltong as well, but the last batch I made was just the worst cuts of meat that one could hope for.

So will look for a meat supplier here in Pretoria, and will try my moms way of Biltong. My Grandma made a mean biltong mix so time that either me of the wife gets the recipe

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[AlanD]

Been purchasing the pre made biltong as well, but the last batch I made was just the worst cuts of meat that one could hope for.

So will look for a meat supplier here in Pretoria, and will try my moms way of Biltong. My Grandma made a mean biltong mix so time that either me of the wife gets the recipe

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Then share recipe here

[Plentipotential]

General rule of thumb, you loose 2 thirds of your weight when making biltong. 

 

Now there's a diet plan to follow!

[Grebel]

Been doing DIY 'Tong for a few years.

 

I normally do about 3kg silverside per batch. My family like the thinner sticks so I cut pieced about 20mm thick. I salt the silverside first and let it sit for about 2 hrs. I mix 1 bottle of brown vinegar and 1 bottle of Worcestershire sauce into a Tupperware container and "wash" the meat in that. I let it marinade in the mixture for another 2 hours.

 

Take it out of the container and drip dry before coating with Crown Safari Mix. (Another alternative is coating the meat in Sweet Chilli Sauce and then use a little bit of your seasoning) Let that do it's thing in a sealed container in the fridge for 24 hours.

 

Hook it and hang it! Normally use the fan and the light but find that it leaves the outside a bit crusty. Lately just been using the fan and the results have been great.

 

I use paperclips for the hooks. Cheap and disposable.

 

My cabinet is a converted server cabinet  Looks really trick

 

Yield wise you lose any where between 30-50% depending on how long you leave it in the cabinet for.

[MphatiPyga]

Been keen to do my own biltong for a while too. My father in law tells me you can't do proper summer biltong properly though

[Steven Knoetze (sk27)]

I on the other hand cannot stand any of these readymade biltong spices. Also dont like the oversoaked taste

My MO is:

Soak meat in vinegar and stand in fridge for 1hr

Drain vinegar and keep one side, then cover in a mix of coarse salt mixed with a little brown sugar. Stand in fridge for 1hr

Then wash the meat with the leftover vinegar, I use a basting brush and rub tje meat clean basically.

I then spice it using only ground black pepper and crushed corriander seeds.

Hang for 1.5 go 2 days in my DIY dryer, and its ready to eat.

Prefer my biltong wet inside.

My yield is usually around the 750g per 1kg meat, or thereabouts.

 

Its good fun but I dont experiment anymore, stick with my recipe now.

[Long Wheel Base]

A friend of mine' parents live in Underburg. He invited us to spend a few nights on their farm before a trip down to durban. They are also keen hunters. They have "washing lines" set up in many rooms of the house and when we where last there just about every one had biltong hanging on it. My buddy said, if you walk passed a piece and it looks good then take it. Never chowed so much biltong in 1 weekend before.

[intern]

Some okes reckon you should not wash the meat under the tap, but I do exactly that after marinading, doesn't seem to bother the cow much at all - product is still lekker and you do get rid of that excessive vinegar taste.

[Long Wheel Base]

P.s.... You need some more oros

 

 

Lol...i know, im low on Oros.

 

This is the melleware one and its cool as it comes with trays to also dry fruit and stuffs on.

Flip Oros is getting expensive. When I first moved out of my folks place and had to start buying my own groceries in 2012 it was about R20 and on special just under. Last week PnP had it for +-R40. A month or so ago they had a 6 pack on special for R150 I think.

[MphatiPyga]

I on the other hand cannot stand any of these readymade biltong spices. Also dont like the oversoaked taste

My MO is:

Soak meat in vinegar and stand in fridge for 1hr

Drain vinegar and keep one side, then cover in a mix of coarse salt mixed with a little brown sugar. Stand in fridge for 1hr

Then wash the meat with the leftover vinegar, I use a basting brush and rub tje meat clean basically.

I then spice it using only ground black pepper and crushed corriander seeds.

Hang for 1.5 go 2 days in my DIY dryer, and its ready to eat.

Prefer my biltong wet inside.

My yield is usually around the 750g per 1kg meat, or thereabouts.

 

Its good fun but I dont experiment anymore, stick with my recipe now.

Also not partial to the prevalence of Worcestershire sauce as a biltong agent, keep it simple